GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Feb 22, CMC – The Guyana government has set out an ambitious plan to have all bottled water consumed locally be produced in the country within the next year.
President Irfaan Ali, speaking at the commissioning of the Five Miles Water Treatment Plant in Bartica that forms part of the GUY$40 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.008 cents) Coastal Water Treatment Infrastructure Programme (CWTIP), said that Guyana, known as the “land of many waters,” and so must move decisively to optimise its freshwater wealth and reduce dependence on imported bottled water.
“You can’t be such a resource-rich country in fresh water and be importing bottled water. The Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation must set aside a target of ensuring that all our water consumed locally is produced locally in the next 12 months,” he told the ceremony.
Ali said that achieving this goal will require close collaboration with the private sector and a focus on economies of scale. He said rather than having multiple entities duplicating investments, he is suggesting standardising production systems, such as shared plastic bottle manufacturing, to reduce operational costs and increase competitiveness.
According to Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), locally treated and bottled water can be produced and sold for approximately GUY$100 per bottle or less when operational costs are efficiently managed.
“We have to look at all the verticals so that we can bring down the cost of water. A country known as the land of many waters must have the cheapest water available to its people and its visitors.”
President Ali told the ceremony that water must now be viewed as an economic commodity, citing global studies that predict increasing water scarcity in the coming decades Guyana must implement Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) principles to optimise its total water assets.
He said the new ministry for water must go “beyond the norm,” focusing not just on access to treated water but also on creating value, diversifying the economy, and boosting national competitiveness.
“This is about building a diversified economy in a measurable way. Clean water is empowerment. Clean water is nation-building in its purest form.”
The Five Miles water facility which forms part of the CWTIP intended to increase treated water coverage to 90 per cent by 2026. The programme is being implemented by Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
Under Phase One of the programme, seven large water treatment plants and 15 small treatment plants have been completed, 12 existing facilities have been upgraded, and 200 kilometres of transmission mains were installed across several regions of the country.
The Five Miles plant was constructed by Toshiba Water Solutions Inc at a cost of GUY$468 million and the supporting infrastructure, including the water catchment system, pumping station and transmission pipeline, was completed at a cost of GUY$68 million. A reinforced concrete access road to the catchment and pumping station will also be built at a cost of GUY$71 million to strengthen operational access.
“Clean water is not a luxury. It is life. It is health in every glass. It is dignity in every household. Not with promises, but with pipes in the ground and water in the taps,” Ali told the ceremony.
CMC/gt/ir/2026